Business Intelligence

Syslog recommends the use of its fast, simple and decision-supporting Business Intelligence solution. However, we can also integrate third-party products if you wish.

BI Syslog

Features

Speaking of Business Intelligence (BI), Syslog has several solutions possibilities. Either by using the Business Intelligence module offered in the ERP, or by using a third-party product (QlikView, Cognos, Business Object, Tableau, Board …) also offered by Syslog.

However, Syslog recommends the use of its own BI module for the following reasons:

Quick access to source data

Simplicity of the presentation cockpit

Decision support

Reliability and conformity of results

No time wasted in the company for the creation and interpretation of results

Data extraction in flat or Excel format is always possible

Because this is the best way to ensure the integrity of the data / results as well as the optimisation of time related to the company’s managerial services.

BI Board

In some cases, in order to have a BI tool that brings together not only our ERP data but also all other data circulating in the company, Syslog recommends the “Board” solution. It offers the flexibility to create specific applications in record time and at low cost. It is also the only product on the market to offer a unified architecture for business intelligence, analytics and organisational performance management. Syslog has a close partnership with Board (Swiss company based in Chiasso TI).

General information

The “Board” solution offers the flexibility to create specific applications in record time and at low cost. It is also the only product on the market to offer a unified architecture for business intelligence, analytics and organisational performance management.

Reporting, dashboarding and data discovery features, as well as planning, benchmarking and simulation capabilities are provided from a common data repository, offering a logical view of the data model (“metadata” layer) based on a unique security system, an interface and an administration and development environment.

Schematic diagram of the Board solution:

Click on the image to display it in full screen…

Here is a brief description of the modules of the Board solutions:

Financial consolidation

It provides accurate reporting, the current year-end closing and full financial control for each entity in the organisation.

This module offers the possibility to perform legal and administrative consolidation in a business intelligence (BI) and corporate performance management (CPM) environment. This provides an in-depth view of the financial and operational results. In this way, it meets the challenges often faced by international companies due to their multi-entity organisation, enabling adjustments, consolidation and reporting for the whole organisation.

Functionality is provided to merge data from different sites and ledgers; it performs conversions between multiple currencies and eliminates tedious and non-compliant spreadsheet-based processes.

A workflow configuration panel makes it easy to monitor and manage the consolidation process at all levels. This panel highlights the status of operations and certifies internal controls.

The main features are the multi-level legal and administrative consolidation of complex group structures, through the automation of the tasks listed below.

Automated tasks:

Currency conversion with calculation of the conversion reserve;
Elimination of credits/debits and expenses/revenues between companies;
Elimination of investments in equity of subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries, with calculation of the consolidation reserve;
Elimination of dividend gains/losses and subsidiaries, with calculation of gains/losses per group;
Calculation of minority and group interests ;
Calculation of changes in the scope of consolidation;
Calculation and reporting of cash flow;
Reconciliation between companies at transaction document or currency level;
Fixed or sub-consolidation model;
Creation and comparison of infinite scenarios (actual, budget, forecast, etc.);
Multiple and customisable closing periods (annual, quarterly, monthly, etc.);
Management of several charts of accounts: local, group and reporting;
Journal entries at company and group level;
Complete audit function for data and processes
Regulatory, administrative and segmented reporting.

Financial planning and budgeting

This module provides a combined solution for organisation-wide financial planning, budgeting and forecasting and other functions, all on a platform designed for financial decision support.

As the module is based on a shared-memory processing data repository, it is easy to link financial planning to every operational detail while always relying on a single version to ensure data conformity.

Thanks to the integrated workflow management, the company can quickly define planning steps and approval cycles, easily adapting the process to the needs of its organisation.

Accessible without coding via an intuitive ‘copy and paste’, the architecture of this module ensures that the company retains ownership and control of the workflow models within the organisation and that they will not require constant support from IT or consultants.

The main functions of the budgeting and planning areas are:

Calculation of Sales Turnover;
Overheads and other costs;
Workforce planning;
Investment expenditure planning;
Profit and Loss and balance sheet calculation;
Automated cash flow.

The main features are:

Workflow overlay providing control and visibility into the process;
Real-time calculations and instant aggregation to see the impact of changes immediately;
Multi-level data allocation and drill-down
Use of the same cell for inputs (data entry) and outputs (formula);
Actual figures, budget and forecast for any number of scenarios and versions;
Comments and relevant documents attached to complement the figures;
Quick generation of what-if scenarios and creation of multiple versions of plans;
Advanced integration with Microsoft Office.

The main advantages are:

Streamline planning, budgeting and forecasting at all levels of the company;
Seamless integration of planning, simulation and analysis functions;
Improvement of interactivity and speed in obtaining planning and analysis;
Guaranteed data reliability and integrity;
Link between the Finance and Operations departments;
Increased speed and improved responsiveness of the Finance department;
Reduced manual data collection and reconciliation.

Analytics

This module enables you to create visual analyses and meaningful analytical applications from raw data in seconds, without any programming.

With an innovative user environment combining data preparation, search-based data discovery, personal mash-ups and copy&paste operations, all users access relevant information more easily, quickly and efficiently, without compromising the company’s data governance.

Typical chart, in real time, of the organisation’s data:

Click on the image for a full screen view…

This image is taken from the BOARD website.

« Data Fast Track »

Easily upload, merge and model your data while maintaining its integrity.

This module enable business users to connect to any data source, instantly create data models, run visual analyses or design analytical applications, without IT assistance. Users can also enrich their data models by automatically merging additional data or creating derived fields in an Excel-like environment.

An innovative feature, called “PinBOARD”, allows users to choose an existing report, indicator or graph, customise it and save it as a personal application in a private virtual environment.

In this way, all users have the ability to create their own personalised access to the organisation’s information, without compromising the consistency or integrity of the data.

Planning

Streamline all company planning processes!

This module provides a modern integrated business planning (IBP) platform. IT enables the integration of strategic, financial and operational planning, ensuring full control of performance at all levels of the organisation.

The multidimensional planning environment of this module is based on a single shared data repository and offers various functionalities (data validation, corporate security, versioning).

This improves the control and efficiency of the entire planning process, making it fully reliable in terms of results and significantly less costly in terms of time and resources

Real-time planning and analysis:

The aggregation and the breakdown of data and the execution of calculations are much more efficient thanks to the Board processing in HBMP (Hybrid Bitwise Memory Pattern). All data changes are automatically distributed across dimensions and hierarchies, providing a snapshot of the overall impact of a single change. Based on the same unified ‘metadata’ layer, the applications, reports and analyses are updated in real time, maintaining the integrity of the data set.

Agile planning with the dynamic data model:

Board offers the possibility to directly modify the data model during the planning or forecasting process. It is possible to insert a new organisational subdivision, a new element, a new country or a different investment during a planning cycle by simulating the effect of a new scenario on the global organisation model. In addition, structures and links can be changed at runtime. This feature provides unparalleled flexibility in the creation and management of planning applications. Full reliability of the data is guaranteed.